Defense propels Ashland to first victory

Doug Haidet Published: December 1, 2006 12:00 AM

By DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports WriterIt was an ever-improving countdown to a win-clinching result.After dropping its first game of the season Saturday by nine points to Shelby, the Ashland High School girls basketball team turned a home-opening slow start into a .500 record Thursday with a 45-34 win.The Arrows allowed 10 points to Sandusky in the first quarter, and continued to lock down on defense, giving up just 9, 8 and 7 points in order over the final three stanzas. Ashland induced the Blue Streaks into over 30 turnovers, something it also did in its opener, and that helped AHS open up its team scoring on the other end."Forcing all those turnovers is good, and we've done it out of different defenses," Arrow coach Mike Gallagher said. "We played our matchup zone much better (than in the first game), and if you hold someone to 34 points, you should win."Ashland's victory came courtesy of some balanced play. The team had eight players do its scoring, all of whom had points before halftime, as Norah Gangi's 10 markers led the way. The senior also added 11 rebounds and a pair of steals, but did much of that in the second half because she picked up her third foul about midway through the second quarter.Gallagher said the team stepped up at pretty much every point it needed to."We just continued to run the same plays (with Gangi on the bench early) and they made sure to play as hard as they could possibly play," he said. "We know we're not a one-woman team, so if bad things happen to somebody, that means somebody else has to pick it up."That effort was needed early with Sandusky guard Jazmunn Ritchie pouring in all the Streak offense. She scored the visitors' first nine points, with the rest of her team going 0-for-6 from the field in the first, leading them to a 10-8 advantage after eight minutes.The Arrows, who forced eight turnovers in all four quarters, overcame a big rebounding deficit in the first half by causing Streak miscues. And after a 3-point play from Natalie Emmons in the second quarter, AHS held on to lead into halftime, trailing just one more time in the game before a score by Megan Gallaway changed the lead in the home team's favor for good.The second half sped along in Ashland's favor thanks to multiple assists and a bucket from Taylor Rogers (eight points, six total assists), the resurgence of Gangi (eight points, 10 rebounds in the second half) and the all-around contributions of Allison Tomasek (six points, six rebounds, assist, steal)."Right now we're not a good enough outside team, so we need to get some 2-on-1 opportunities," Gallagher said. "And in the fourth quarter we got some of those and it resulted in a couple key plays. We're trying to get the ball to the open person and just trying to finish."Ashland put the finish on the game cleanly when it went the entire third quarter without committing a foul and held Sandusky scoreless for nearly the first five minutes of the fourth.It took overtime to decide the junior varsity contest, which Ashland won, 39-36. Rachel Feliciano and Kelly Sullivan both finished with nine points for the Arrows, while Amanda Nardo hit crucial free throws in OT to clinch the victory, leading AHS with 10 markers.SANDUSKY: Gant 4-0-8, Brown 3-0-6, Ritchie 5-6-16, Noland 0-1-1, Lyons 1-0-2, Pearson 0-1-1. TEAM 13-8-34.ASHLAND: Gangi 4-1-10, Tomasek 2-2-6, Grosscup 2-0-4, Krisko 2-2-6, Oberholtzer 2-0-5, Rogers 3-2-8, Gallaway 1-1-3, Emmons 1-1-3. TEAM 17-9-45.Sandusky1098734Ashland8131113453-point field goals: Gangi, Oberholtzer.Junior varsity score: Ashland 39, Sandusky 36 (OT).